AN OMINOUS CLOUD HANGING OVER US

On the very day of the 15th anniversary of
the Bhopal catastrophe, where a toxic cloud consumed thousands of
nearby residents to the Union Carbide chemical factory in India,
reports came in of a serious fire on the campus of the University
of Queensland.

"The wind
carried the clouds of gas out over the surrounding community,
exposing more than 500,000 people to the poisons."

Local residents, threatened by the
chemical laboratories proposed for St Lucia and Long Pocket,
anxiously watched thick black clouds of toxic smoke swirl into
the clear sky of a glorious Brisbane summer's day. They nervously
pondered their predicament, and what fate awaited on this most
infamous of days. For months concerned residents' groups have
been delving into the proposals and the veil of secrecy
surrounding the most inappropriate siting of these hazardous
biochemical facilities.

Of particular worry was the admission by the University
authorities in cross examination by the parliamentary Public
Works Committee, that they had no plans for handling more than
the most basic emergency situation. They feebly offered that in
an emergency, you should dial "000" or ring the
Security Desk that was manned 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.
Residents had called for the formulation of a comprehensive Risk
Management Plan or RMP for such a situation.

Here and now was the realisation of their greatest fears, an
apparently toxic fire spewing a chemical cocktail across the
neighbourhood, with the experts apparently ill prepared to handle
it. Numerous fire tenders descended upon the University, and
surrounding buildings (including the Library) were hurriedly
evacuated.

In the event, the fire was thankfully contained and the
"spin doctors" of the administration quickly released a
News Report denying any damage to the SunShark experimental solar
vehicle, though admitting two persons were taken to hospital for
observation. Luckily, it was out of semester time, and the campus
was largely deserted. But the apprehensions of the residents, and
let's face it, a good many of the staff and students, were not
alleviated by potentially dangerous incidents such as this, and
the continued denial of information to affected parties.

* * *Biohazard Action Alliance members are
seeking release of the much delayed EIA for the giant CSIRO/UQ
joint building project to not only give a clear comparison of the
relative environmental merits of each of the alternative sites
proposed, but to also ensure the risks to the community from the
potential hazards are accurately described and assessed.

Whatever the conditions allowed today
might be, Australians will be demanding much higher standards in
planning, on emission control, and in the management of high risk
laboratories in residential areas in the future.